Heroin, a drug usually associated with hardcore, back-alley junkies, has taken root in many Albuquerque high schools, and the seeds of this deadly addiction start in the home.

Commander Doug West heads up the Albuquerque Police Departments narcotics division. He said the schools with the biggest heroin problems are La Cueva, Sandia and Eldorado.

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Heroin use, however, is becoming more popular among high schoolers across Albuquerque, West said.

We have kids as young as 12 or 13 years old, West said. We received a tip this morning, a Crime Stoppers tip of heroin use at another high school.

Heroin is quickly becoming the drug of choice for more and more Albuquerque students.

For parent Jennifer Weiss, the trend is as alarming as it is puzzling.

My own son has struggled with heroin addiction for the past year, and he continues to struggle, she said

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Weiss said she gave him a good home and sent him to a good school, but he was pulled in by the powerful lure of heroin before he could graduate from La Cueva High School.

At Albuquerque Treatment Services Methadone Rehab Center, staff said theyve seen an uptick in those seeking help for heroin addiction in the past three months. Many are teenagers.

We have seen an increase in the 18-, 19-, 20-year-old population coming in using heroin, said Barbara Kashinski with Albuquerque Treatment Services. Just about everybody who walks in our door when they come in is still using.

For most teens, the path to heroin starts in the medicine cabinet. Pain killers offer an expensive high, and when those dry up, teens turn to heroin.

It amazes me some of the people that walk through the door. I would never know. I cant put a face on it, Kashinski said.

Albuquerque Public Schools police told Target 7 that they only hear rumors of heroin in high schools, and they havent seen the drug show up on campuses this year.

Its optimism that Weiss doesnt share. As the president of the Heroin Awareness Support Group, she said she sees too many parents searching for ways to reach children who are lost in an evil that they never saw coming.

For parents not to think it can't happen to them just because they live in the Northeast Heights, just because they have a good job just because they drive a fancy car, just because they talk to their kids about drugs, and think their kids know better; never assume that their kids aren't going to try some of the hardcore drugs, Weiss said.

That further experimentation leads down a dead-end road for kids who sacrifice their futures for the ultimate high.